Modern gas turbine engines, particularly of the type designed primarily for aircraft applications, include components which are expensive to manufacture because of their complex design and materials of construction. During normal operation of such apparatus, some components can experience events such as normal wear or thermal damage. In addition, mishaps such as machining errors or other inadvertent damage can occur during initial manufacture. For example, such events or damage can occur in connection with compressor or turbine spools or disks.
It has been found that, in respect to localized repair of a portion of an article rather than replacement of the portion, ordinary known means of repair such as electron beam welding and gas tungsten arc welding can adversely affect properties of the material of construction because of relatively high heat input which results in distortion and a relatively deep heat affected zone. Such an excessive heat distribution has been found to cause component cracking which is particularly critical in rotating components such as wheels, drums, and spools of gas turbine engines.